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Canada Revokes Charity Status of Jewish Nonprofits Supporting Israel
Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters, primarily university students, rally at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square on Oct. 28, 2023. Photo by Sayed Najafizada/NurPhoto
Canada on Sunday officially revoked the charitable status of two Jewish nonprofit organizations that allocate funds to support projects in Israel, including the Jewish National Fund Canada, a move that JNF Canada described as a “wrong and unjustified decision” allegedly influenced by antisemites.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) made the announcement regarding JNF and the Ne’eman Foundation Canada in notices posted in the Canada Gazette, the government’s official newspaper. CRA said the charities failed to meet parts of Canada’s Income Tax Act but did not elaborate further.
JNF announced in late July that it filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court of Appeal to contest the CRA decision, saying that the agency’s review process “was flawed and fundamentally unfair.” The Jewish group is also arguing that there is “reasonable apprehension of bias” in the audit that CRA conducted. They claim the CRA was pressured by antisemites and anti-Israel activists to revoke the group’s charitable status, and that it “was an important consideration” for the CRA when it decided to take action against the charity.
“As a Zionist-inspired organization, JNF Canada has many vociferous antisemitic detractors who we believe have influenced the decision-making process in this matter,” the nonprofit explained in a released statement. “We believe that arguably there is a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of the CRA. This evidence of bias comes from the CRA’s own records, which show that the public pressure on the CRA and the Minister of National Revenue to revoke JNF’s status was an important consideration within the chain of authority at the Charities Directorate. A review of the record would leave a reasonable person with the impression that this pressure resulted in a biased decision.”
JNF Canada said it has evidence that the Charities Directorate was monitoring campaigns and comments made by those who are opposed to the group’s support for the Jewish state, specifically the anti-Israel nonprofit organization Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV), which has been involved in four complaints against JNF Canada.
“Given the current environment, the CRA’s decision will be seen as a victory for anti-Israel and antisemitic movements and groups,” the pro-Israel group added.
In a Q&A shared on its website on Aug. 1, JNF Canada said CRA claims the Jewish group “has failed to exercise adequate direction and control” over its primary intermediary in Israel, which is Karen Kayemeth Le’Israel (KKL). The Israeli organization focuses on developing the land of Israel “for a sustainable future,” “strengthening the bond between the Jewish people and its homeland,” and “supporting Zionist and environmental education,” according to its website.
In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel, KKL-JNF provided support to communities impacted by the terrorist attack, raised funds, and bought ambulances and equipment for community emergency squads, The Jerusalem Post reported. KKL-JNF also established a special scholarship program that provided NIS 4,000 (roughly $1,075) to thousands of college students who were living in the Gaza border communities or Sderot at the time of the Oct. 7 attack.
JNF Canada explained that CRA usually takes certain measures, like negotiating compliance agreements or invoking sanctions, before drastically revoking an organization’s charitable status. But, in its dealing with JNF Canada, the CRA “not only skipped steps 1-3, it also refused to enter into a dialogue with us and to entertain our suggestions of new objects for our charity or to discuss a compliance agreement,” the Jewish group said. “We maintain that the CRA erred both in fact and in law and that the process was flawed and unfair, which is why we have ended up in court.”
JNF Canada also maintains that it has addressed CRA’s concerns about its work with KKL by taking steps such as reducing the number of its projects with the group and engaging in a compliant agreement with the Israeli charity.
“KKL works for JNF Canada, just like any other agent that we utilize. JNF Canada selects the projects we wish to support and we always have direction and control over all of the funds as we reimburse expenses upon receipt of valid expense reports. In short, we have addressed the CRA’s concerns.”
JNF Canada’s National President Nathan Disenhouse said in a released statement: “Similar to other charities that support the needs of children, workers, and vulnerable communities we would expect CRA to work with, not against, our charity. Our position is that it is unjust for CRA to revoke a charity because a charitable object that it accepted almost 60 years ago is now no longer considered to be a valid charitable object.”
“It is simply unjust to close a charity supported by over 100,000 Canadians based on reversing a decision the CRA made in 1967,” he continued. “Today’s legal appeal will allow JNF Canada’s concerns to be considered before an impartial legal process.”
Independent Jewish Voices Canada applauded the CRA’s revocation.
“It means Canadian tax money will no longer subsidize the JNF’s illegal support of Israeli apartheid,” the group said. It accused JNF of being compliant in “colonization, occupation and apartheid,” and added that while JNF will appeal the CRA’s decision, “we will again fight every step of the way to make sure they never use this loophole to finance Israeli crimes again.”
The Ne’eman Foundation did not respond to The Algemeiner‘s request for a comment about the CRA’s decision.
According to its website, the Ne’eman Foundation “supports projects that reduce or eliminate poverty, advance education, religion and quality of life, and promote charitable initiatives for community development in Israeli communities.” It provides a “secure financial link” between Israel and Canada and helps Israeli nonprofits build their donor bases in Canada.
With offices in Toronto and Israel, the foundation says it offers Canadians with a wide selection of tax-deductible projects in Israel “that are monitored to guarantee that allocated funds are used accordingly and comply with the requirements of Canadian tax legislation.”
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Tlaib Sports Palestinian Keffiyeh at Carter Funeral, Thanks Late President for ‘Speaking Out Against Apartheid’
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses attendees as she takes part in a protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, US, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), one of the most strident opponents of Israel in Congress, wore a Palestinian keffiyeh to the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, commemorating the late American leader’s advocacy against so-called “apartheid” in the Jewish state.
“Rest in peace, President Jimmy Carter. It was an honor to be there with your family. I wore my Palestinian keffiyeh to show my gratitude for your courageous stance in speaking out against apartheid and standing up for peace,” Tlaib posted on X/Twitter, along with a picture of her keffyeh.
Rest in peace, President Jimmy Carter. It was an honor to be there with your family. I wore my Palestinian keffiyeh to show my gratitude for your courageous stance in speaking out against apartheid and standing up for peace. pic.twitter.com/Vf0XLN2BtJ
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) January 9, 2025
The keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headscarf, has become known as a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian cause and opposition to Israel since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023.
High-profile politicians, including all five living US presidents, attended Carter’s funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC on Thursday. The former president died on Dec. 29, 2024 at 100 years old due to heart failure.
Over the past couple of decades, Carter’s public commentary on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has ruffled feathers among supporters of the Jewish state. In 2006, Carter raised eyebrows after publishing a book titled, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which condemned Israel for constructing settlements in the West Bank and accused the Jewish state of constructing a racially-discriminatory political regime.
In 2009, Carter traveled to the Middle East and held meetings with leaders of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Critics noted that he did not criticize Hamas leadership during his meeting and praised the terrorists as being “frank and honest.”
In 2015, Carter further incensed proponents of the Jewish state when he seemingly defended senior Hamas leader Khaled Mashal and argued that the terrorist group was not an obstacle to peace in the region.
“I don’t believe that [Mashal’s] a terrorist. He’s strongly in favor of the peace process,” Carter said at the time.
“I don’t see that deep commitment on the part of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to make concessions which [former Prime Minister] Menachem Begin did to find peace with his potential enemies,” Carter continued.
Since entering Congress, Tlaib has positioned herself as one of the most vocal anti-Israel critics in US politics. Tlaib, the first Palestinian American woman to serve in the House of Representatives, has repeatedly used her platform to lodge condemnations against Israel.
The congresswoman has accused Israel of committing “apartheid” against Palestinians. In the year following Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7, Tlaib has smeared the Jewish state’s defensive military operations as a “genocide,” calling on US President Joe Biden to force a “ceasefire” between Israel and the terrorist group and implement an “arms embargo” against the Jewish state.
On Thursday, Tlaib slammed the House for passing a bill which would sanction members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its issuing of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant
“What’s their top priority the first week of the new Congress? Lowering costs? Addressing the housing crisis? No, it’s sanctioning the International Criminal Court to protect genocidal maniac Netanyahu so he can continue the genocide in Gaza,” Tlaib wrote on social media.
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Sydney Synagogue Daubed in Antisemitic Graffiti in Latest Attack on Australian Jews
Southern Sydney Synagogue in the suburb of Allawah, Australia, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti on Jan. 10, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
A synagogue in Sydney was daubed in antisemitic graffiti on Friday, police said, the latest in a spate of incidents targeting Jews in Australia.
Police will deploy a special task force to investigate the attack on the Southern Sydney Synagogue in the suburb of Allawah that happened in the early hours of Friday morning, New South Wales state Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna told a news conference.
“The people who do the sort of thing should realize we will be out in force to look for them; we will catch them and prosecute them,” he said.
Television footage showed multiple swastikas painted on the building, along with a message reading “Hitler on top.”
“[There is] no place in Australia, our tolerant multicultural community, for this sort of criminal activity,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a news conference.
The incident is the latest in a series of antisemitic incidents in Australia in the last year, including multiple incidents of graffiti on buildings and cars in Sydney, as well as arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne that police have ruled as terrorism.
Australia has seen an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023 and Israel launched its war against the Palestinian terrorist group in Gaza. Some Jewish organizations have said the government has not taken sufficient action in response.
The country launched a task force last month following the Melbourne synagogue blaze, focusing on threats, violence, and hatred towards the Australian Jewish community.
Australia’s ice hockey federation said on Tuesday it had cancelled a planned international qualifying tournament due to safety concerns, with local media reporting the decision was linked to the participation of the Israeli national team.
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Netanyahu Says Houthis Paying ‘Heavy Price’ After Israel Strikes Yemen
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes near Sanaa airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Israeli warplanes bombed a power station and two ports in Houthi-controlled Yemen on Friday in retaliation for the Iran-backed terrorist group’s drone and missile strikes against Israel, and pro-Houthi media said at least one person had been killed and nine wounded.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the Houthi rebels in Yemen were “paying and will continue to pay a heavy price for their aggression against us.”
“Today, we attacked terrorist targets of the Houthi terrorist regime along the western coastal strip and deep in Yemen. The Houthis are a proxy of Iran, and they serve the terrorist objectives of the Iranian axis in the Middle East,” Netanyahu added. “They constitute a danger to Israel and the entire region, including global freedom of navigation.”
The strikes hit the Red Sea port of Ras Issa and the major port of Hodeidah and the Hezyaz central power station in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, and Harf Sufyan District in Amran province also came under air attack, said Al Masirah TV, the main news outlet run by the Houthis.
An employee at the Ras Issa port was killed and six others were injured, while three people, including a worker, were wounded in the strikes on Hezyaz, the outlet said.
The Israeli military said more than 20 aircraft took part in the attack, dropping around 50 bombs and missiles in an operation which required airborne refueling during the 2,000-km (1,240-mile) flight.
Earlier, British security firm Ambrey said airstrikes on the Ras Issa port targeted oil storage facilities in the vicinity of shipping berths, though no merchant vessels were reported to have been damaged.
The supply of petroleum derivatives is stable, the Houthi government spokesperson Hashem Sharaf Eddine said after the attack.
An Israeli military statement confirmed the targets, saying the power station served as a “central source of energy for the Houthi terrorist regime in its military activities.” It added that the targets struck were examples of the “Houthis’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure.”
“The Houthi terrorist regime has repeatedly attacked the State of Israel, its citizens and civilian infrastructure in Israel,” including using drones and surface-to-surface missiles, the IDF said. “The State of Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself.”
The Israeli military added that Houthi “attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world.”
“While the Houthi terrorist regime operates as an independent terrorist organization, it relies on Iranian cooperation and funding to attack the State of Israel and its citizens,” it continued. “The IDF will continue to operate at any distance against any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens.”
Within the past 48 hours, the Houthis have fired three drones at Israel‘s commercial hub Tel Aviv and more drones and missiles at the US aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said.
The Houthis have targeted Israel, hundreds of kilometers to the north as well as international shipping in waters near Yemen since November 2023 in support of Palestinian terrorists at war with Israel in Gaza.
Israel has responded with airstrikes in Houthi-held areas of Yemen, as have British and US forces in the region.
Netanyahu said last month Israel was only at the beginning of its campaign against the Houthis.
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